08/18/05 - I'll be heading up to Whiby, Ontario next week to put the finishing touches on our order. We've just been assigned Hull No. 87with a mid-December delivery date, so construction will begin soon! I put together this PhotoShop-enhanced image (at right) for PDQ to use as a guide for the desired appearance of our finshed boat. We'll see how close we come to each other...

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08/27/05 - Just back from PDQ Factory visit; the specs for Sno' Dog have been written! Besides 100-HP engines, we'll have a generator, air-conditioning, E-Series Raymarine electronics, anchor/mooring package, davits and four extra hatches for plenty of ventilation. We'll also have the Heater Craft cabin heater (which uses engine coolant for heat while underway) and the dual inline fuel filters with gauges. Although it seems we got almost everything on their option list, we did pass on a few (relatively expensive) items. We skipped the quiet package deciding, after another sea trial in a new 100-hp model that it it really wasn't necessary. We also passed on the "Quiet Flush" head as it was our experience on the Sunsail charter that it didn't really live up to its name! We also passed on the washer/dryer, watermaker and the icemaker. This is only a 34-footer after all!

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First of the 2006 models, "Gypsy Lady" awaits final sea trial at Whitby Harbour.

9/28/05 - Back from a one-week house-boat tour of Venice, ITALY. Absolutely beautiful! Not really Sno' Dog related, but if you're interested, check out four pages of scenic photos by clicking here.

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12/20/05 - Guess we started something with the cats-in-the-snow images. PDQ used our WinterCruisin image (which appeared at the top of Page 1 for a few weeks) as their Christmas card this year, plus they've come up with a similar image for their Antares 44 sailboat - see the PDQ seasonal cover page. Congrats to Salwa Farah for her humorous creativity.

I gather at least one customer has already called to inquire if PDQ cats are indeed built strong enough to go through snow and ice that way! Perhaps we should have added a disclaimer: Don't try this at home!

12/22/05 - Finally unveiled, the REAL Sno' Dog! No flakes, no fakes - this is the REAL THING!

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Once again, I traveled to Whitby to see Sno' Dog before she goes into cold storage for the winter. I got there just in time to witness the final commisioning process -- almost everything possible without launching had been completed -- including the graphics, as you can see here. For more, click here.

The real Sno' Dog at the head of the assembly line - December 2005

I also got a sneak peek at PDQ's new Powercat 41. I was actually able to walk through the plug for the owner's cabin - very impressive! There's no doubt that PDQ customers who have been clamoring for an easily-accessible bed will love this boat. I think, because PDQ listened to their customers, they will have another winner here! For more on the 41 click photo:

01/12/06 - Time to take down our 2005 Christmas Card - but you can still see it with a simple click..PDQ took theirs down a few weeks ago, but (lucky you!) you can still see it by clicking here:.

01/15/06 - Just back from a week in Kauai -- the garden island of Hawaii -- more like Paradise, I'd say! Naturally, we took lots of photos -- and you can see some of them by clicking on the links below.

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Perhaps a bit more relevant to readers of this site, we took a great powercat tour of the island aboard the 62-foot power catamaran Holoholo which really impressed us with it's ability to run at 25 knots into some really huge ocean waves.

02/20/06 - Another trip, another photo-journal! This time, a Panama Canal Cruise. Figuring that we ought to do stuff that we won't be doing after we get our boat, we set off on another far-flung adventure:

It was difficult to pick just a few photos (from the 500 or so!) from this trip. I got a bit carried away with the Panama Canal Transit portion - there are now 4 pages with a moment-by-moment description. Since we'll likely never get down there in our own boat, it was a great way to experience it. Check it out.